Wyckoff
April 11, 2012 THE VILLADOM TIMES I • Page 3
Election surprise: Chris DePhillips will not run
by John Koster Wyckoff Mayor Christopher DePhillips will not be seeking election in 2012, though he has not ruled out future contributions to the township as either an elected or appointed official. DePhillips endorsed his previous running-mate, Kevin Rooney, and newcomer Haakon Jepsen as the Republican candidates for the two available seats on the Wyckoff Township Committee in November of 2012. Eileen Avia, a teacher in the K-8 school system and a frequent volunteer leader in environmental and charitable activities, is the lone Democratic candidate. “There are only 24 hours in a day,” DePhillips told Villadom TIMES last week about his decision not to seek re-election. “There are only so many hours in the day to fulfill all your responsibilities.” Mayor DePhillips said he weighed his role as mayor of Wyckoff with his responsibilities as a partner in a law firm and his responsibilities as the father of four children, ages four to 14, and decided something had to give. He also said that when his other activities permitted, he might return to seeking office. A graduate of Bergen Catholic High School, Mayor DePhillips received his undergraduate degree from Georgetown and his law degree from Seton Hall. He has been an attorney for 20 years and is also active in recreational sports. Township Committeeman Kevin Rooney, who served as mayor of Wyckoff in 2011, is a graduate of Northern Highlands Regional High School in Allendale. He is a property owner and manager, a certified arborist with credits from Cook College at Rutgers University, and a former member of the Wyckoff Zoning Board, where he served for more than a decade, including two years as chairman. Rooney has also served on the Wyckoff Shade Tree Commission and has 30 years of experience in environmental activities on both the business and conservation levels. Jepsen, the other Republican candidate for the township committee, is an information and technical expert for Deutsche Bank in Parsippany and an alternate member of the Wyckoff Board of Adjustment. He is a member of Saint Elizabeth’s Church and is active in the church and with youth activities.
The Wyckoff Township Committee tabled an ordinance for further study after a spokesman for Activities Unlimited urged that his club be exempt from the $25 fee the township committee had hoped to collect for use of the social center. “Because AU is the largest seniors’ group in Wyckoff, (and) because it is sponsored by the oldest church in Wyckoff, I offer that AU should also be exempt from any proposed fee,” said Joseph F. MacDougall, the designated spokesman for Activities Unlimited. The Larkin House was donated to the township by Dorothea Larkin a dozen years ago with the provision that senior citizens
Ordinance tabled for further study
should be permitted to use the building as a meeting place free of charge. The large house was reconfigured in such a way as to turn the first floor into a large group meeting room with a kitchen and bathrooms, and has been used by Wyckoff Seniors and a number of other groups ever since. “There are many groups, users of the Larkin House, who are not seniors: the Republican Club, the Tea Party, the board of education, the Power Squadron, Friends of Wyckoff, and others for whom a fee is appropriate,” MacDougall said. MacDougall – who was backed by a dozen AU members at last week’s township (continued on page 12)
Avia, a Wyckoff resident for 30 years, has a degree in elementary education from the University of Jacksonville in Florida and a master’s degree in special education from William Paterson University. She has been a teacher at Eisenhower Middle School for 23 years, and before that taught for six years in Franklin Lakes. She has been a member of Partners in Pride, the Wyckoff Garden Club, Friends of Wyckoff, and the Wyckoff Ambulance Corps. Avia is co-president of the Wyckoff Economy Shop. An organizer of local food drives and animal adoption services, she is also the recipient of a Bergen County Clean Communities Grant, and a BCUA Environmental Grant. Wyckoff’s registered voters elect the township committee members. The mayor, who serves a one-year term, is chosen by the township committee members at the Jan. 1 reorganization meeting.